Rachel's Lullaby
by Chucky Ray
Summary: After Rose goes out to the movies with a few of her friends, The Doctor finds himself as the part of Mr. Mom once again. Just a little bit of humor with an extra helping of cuteness! Sixth part of my Human Doctor Series!


Rachel Marie Smith was a happy and beautiful five month old baby girl. Her bleached blonde hair was just starting to grow, and her eyes were turning a light colored green. She also had very loving parents who had just finished taking her to her doctor's appointment. Even though she checked out perfectly fine, she was still fussing about having to have a shot while Rose carried her back to the car. The Doctor unlocked the car and got out her favorite (bright pink) pacifier before placing it inside her mouth.

"There, that should help her feel better." He said while turning her car seat around and strapping it inside the backseat. Rose had been teaching him how to drive and he currently had his temporary license. He gave his daughter a tiny purple rattle before slamming the backdoor shut.

"I know, but I still feel bad for her though." Rose said while she got into the passenger's seat and strapped herself in as he hopped into the driver's seat.

"I wouldn't worry about it too much. As long as Rachel has her rattle and a dummy inside her mouth she's a happy camper." He said while strapping himself in and turning on the engine.

"Hey I was sort of wondering if you could watch her tonight." Rose said.

"Sure, why?" he asked her.

"Sarah, Martha and another old friend of mine and I want to go to the movies tonight." She said as The Doctor smiled warmly at his wife and his heart did a backflip. He loved having some alone time with his daughter just as much as he did when he was alone with her.

"Sure, I'd love to. We'll have a great time together won't we Rachel?" he questioned as he turned around and smiled back at his baby girl who was still focusing on sucking on her pacifier and slowly moving the rattle that was clutched inside her hand back and forth.

"I think that's a yes." Rose told him as he chuckled before starting to pull out of the parking lot.

 _…_ _._

Later that evening The Doctor kissed his wife goodbye (and Rachel baby waved) before he placed Rachel inside he playpen while he started heating up her bottle at the same time while he tried to make his supper. She stacked a couple of blocks on top of each other before sticking one of them in her mouth and then she threw it down before starting to cry.

"I know Rachel I'm coming! I know you're hungry!" he called but Rachel only started to cry harder. The Doctor suddenly feeling concerned rushed over to her and picked her up. "What's the matter princess are you alright?" he questioned her anxiously before placing his hand upon her forehead.

"You're burning up, how is that possible? You were just _at_ the doctor's office and he said you were fine." He said when he suddenly wrinkled his nose. "Oh boy, that doesn't smell good at all." He realized before he started carrying her back to her nursery. "First I'll get you a fresh nappy, and then I guess I'll have to take your temperature." The Doctor told her although he wasn't looking forward to it in the slightest because he knew where it was supposed to go.

Rachel continued to cry and scream on the top of her lungs while The Doctor laid her down on top of the changing table and attempted to calm her down. "Shh,.." he whispered. "it's alright Rachel, Daddy's going to make sure that you feel better, I promise." He reassured her soothingly while he undressed her and tore her diaper apart. "Oh dear, it's more of a mess than usual, I'm afraid you've got diarrhea." He said to himself when all of a sudden she stopped crying and grinned at him.

"What? You think that's amusing?" he questioned her while she let out a rather large squeal and giggled. "Well I don't." he told her with a shake of his head. "Alright you just stay here a minute while I check on the stove,.. this looks like it's going to be a pretty big operation." He said before he quickly dashed out of the room and then set her bottle on top of the counter before checking his dinner and then turning off the stove.

After that he opened up one of the kitchen drawers and removed a pair of Latex gloves and put them on top of his hands before sticking a clothespin on the top of his nose and getting a pair of safety googles from out of his room. He grabbed them off the top of his desk, placed them on his face and then went back into the nursery. Once Rachel caught a glimpse of him she started crying again.

He quickly crumpled up her diaper and threw it away and hurriedly grabbed a baby wipe and started wiping her bottom just so that he could get it over with before he had to do the dreaded task of sticking the thermometer inside of it. This made the baby even more unhappy but he knew it had to be done. A few moments later he removed it and held it under the lamp. Sure enough, she had had a fever of a hundred and one.

The Doctor was left completely and utterly confused and dumbfounded. How could a perfectly healthy baby suddenly go from being as healthy as a horse to as sick as a dog? Then it suddenly hit him when Rachel stopped crying and started sucking and slobbering on top of her knuckle. He removed the clothespin, gloves, and goggles and walked back over toward her.

"Hey there baby girl, are you starting to make way for some teeth in there?" he wondered before reaching his finger into her mouth and feeling her gums. Sure enough, they felt hard. It was at that moment he realized that she was starting her teething. "Well, well, you are growing up awful fast now aren't you?" he questioned as he removed his finger.

"What do you say we put a fresh nappy on you, and give you a teething ring while Daddy has his dinner? Then I'll give you your bottle, and a nice warm bath before I put you to bed and see if that helps you feel better. How does that sound?" he asked her as she smiled widely up at him and reached up to grab ahold of his finger with her tiny hand. "Alright, I'll take that is a yes then." He said while smiling back down at her and leaning forward to kiss her face.

After she had a fresh diaper on, he placed her inside her playpen and gave her a purple teething ring from the fridge to suck on while he ate. Then he reheated her bottle and fed it to her while he held her inside his arms and hummed softly and soothingly. Then, after her bath, he put her nightgown on and read her the story of The Three Bears while he rocked her inside the rocking chair, and when the story was over she began to cry again.

"I'm sorry sweetie, but the story's over. And I know you're tired so you have to go night-night." He told her while he slammed the book shut and stood up rocking her and bouncing her in his arms while trying to hush her at the same time. That's when he placed her up on his hip and slowly started carrying her around the room while he sang.

 _Hush little baby,_

 _My sweet baby girl._

 _My pretty little princess,_

 _Whom I love more than the world._

 _You'll dream about all the pretty little seahorsies down in the bay,_

 _Just close your eyes, and you'll drift away._

 _You can be a little mermaid,_

 _You can be anything,_

 _When you drift off to dreamland with the song that I sing._

 _So now it is time to say goodnight,_

 _I love you my Rachel, so sweet dreams,.._

 _Sleep tight._

He sang while Rachel slowly closed her eyes and fell asleep inside her father's arms. The Doctor smiled down at her before carrying her over to her crib and laying her down inside of it, covering her up and turning off the light before quietly closing the door behind him. At that same time the front door opened and Rose got home. The Doctor greeted his wife with a quick peck on the lips.

"So how's Rachel?" she asked him quietly as The Doctor simply just grinned at her.

"She's asleep." He whispered back. "I just put her to bed. Did you have a good time?" he asked her.

"Yeah, the movie was great. I sure hope that she wasn't too much trouble for you." She said.

"Oh no," The Doctor began with a loving smile. "she wasn't any trouble at all."


End file.
